Tornado Over Blagoveshchensk

First tornado in a Russian city since records began leaves one dead and dozens injured

Dramatic footage has emerged of a freak twister that ripped through the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk last night.

It left one person dead, nearly 30 injured, tore off roofs from nearly a hundred houses and damaged 150 cars. Authorities in the far eastern city, which has a population of around 200,000, have declared a state of emergency as a result.

Tornadoes are extremely rare in Russia, and local meteorologists say it is the first tornado ever to hit a Russian city, according to weather records.

The video shows huge amounts of debris flying through the air as the powerful tornado churns through buildings, trees and across roads.

At the end there is a huge flash from a pylon as the electricity is knocked out. Reports say that thousands of people are still without power.

Amateur footage of the aftermath shows scenes of devastation, with debris scattered across roads, collapsed houses and even a large truck that has been blown onto its side.

Anton Ivlev, spokesman for the governor of the Amur region, told Russian news agencies on Monday that the state of emergency was put in place to speed up rescue efforts.

The damage has been estimated at 80million rubles (£1.8million).

Russians may not see another tornado in their country for years, but they are an all-too-common occurrence in the U.S.

The town of Joplin, Missouri, was utterly destroyed this year by the deadliest tornado to hit the country in more than half a century.

The mile-wide, EF-5 twister, blasted much of the city off the map and slammed straight into its hospital. Houses were reduced to rubble, cars were crushed like soda cans, and utility poles were bent in half by the ferocious 200mph winds.